Kang Jihoon
I stood at my office window watching employees stream out of the building at 5 PM, and somewhere in that crowd was Lee Jiwoo carrying a box of her belongings.
I'd tried to stop her termination this morning but Secretary Ahn had explained why I couldn't. The paperwork was already processed and the severance approved and HR scheduled, which meant reversing it would require board approval and explanations I couldn't give.
So I'd let it happen and watched the clock tick toward 3 PM knowing she was being fired, doing nothing to stop it.
Because what was I supposed to say? That I'd dreamed about dying and she appeared in it, or that I thought she'd been saving me from disasters I didn't know existed?
They'd think I was losing my mind and maybe they'd be right.
"Sajangnim, the board meeting starts in ten minutes." Secretary Ahn stood in my doorway looking concerned. "Are you feeling alright? You've been distracted all day."
"I'm fine." I turned from the window and grabbed my coat. "Actually no, I'm not fine so cancel the meeting."
"I can't cancel a board meeting when they're already gathering—"
"Then tell them I'm sick or tell them whatever you want, but I need to leave right now."
"Where are you going?"
"I don't know yet."
I took the elevator down to the parking garage with my mind racing through thoughts I couldn't organize. The dream had felt real but maybe that was just stress, and Lee Jiwoo had appeared in it but maybe my subconscious had randomly selected her from hundreds of employees.
I needed air and I needed time to think clearly away from this building.
My car was parked in its usual spot and I got in, sitting there for a moment with the engine off. My hands rested on the steering wheel while I stared at nothing and tried to make sense of everything.
What if the dream was just a dream? What if I was connecting dots that didn't exist and making myself paranoid over nothing?
But then why did it feel so real, and why did specific details keep matching up?
I started the engine and my phone rang immediately.
Father's name appeared on the screen.
My stomach tightened as I answered. "Yes?"
"Where are you?" His voice was cold and precise. "Your chair is empty."
"I had to leave early."
A pause, and I could almost hear him processing that. "This is about the accountant."
It wasn't a question and my grip on the wheel tightened. "What accountant?"
"Don't play games with me, Jihoon." His tone sharpened like a blade. "Leave her alone. The termination is final."
"Why do you care about one accountant?"
"I made you CEO." Each word was deliberate. "Don't forget that."
The line went dead.
I sat there staring at my phone while my heart pounded against my ribs. He'd called specifically to warn me away from Lee Jiwoo, which meant she was important somehow. But that could mean anything and I was probably reading too much into it.
Probably.
I pulled out of my parking space and onto the street, still not sure where I was going. Just away from the office and away from questions I couldn't answer.
At the first red light I checked my mirrors out of habit, and that's when I noticed the black sedan three cars back. Tinted windows and no front plate.
The light turned green and I drove forward, watching the sedan follow at a steady distance.
Coincidence, probably. Seoul traffic was always crowded and someone had to be behind me.
But at the next turn I changed lanes suddenly and the sedan changed with me.
My chest tightened as I made another turn without signaling, and the sedan followed smoothly like they'd anticipated it.
This couldn't be real, I was being paranoid because of stress and the dream and my father's strange call. Nobody was actually following me.
I made a sharp right onto a smaller street and the sedan stayed with me, professional and patient.
Okay, so someone was following me.
My phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number.
Check your rearview mirror.
Ice flooded my veins as I read it again. Someone knew I was being followed and someone was watching both of us, which meant this wasn't paranoia anymore.
Another text arrived.
They've been with you since you left. Don't go home.
My hands started shaking on the wheel and I pulled over into a convenience store parking lot, needing a moment to think. The sedan drove past slowly and I caught a glimpse of two men in dark suits before they turned at the corner.
This was happening and this was real.
But why?
My phone rang with an unknown number and I answered with my heart hammering. "Who is this?"
"Someone who can help, but you need to listen carefully." The voice was male and calm. "They work for—" Static cut him off for a moment. "—your father and they're not—" More static. "—to keep you safe."
"I can barely hear you and who are you?"
"Doesn't matter right now." The connection cleared slightly. "Parking garage on Yanghwa-ro in Hongdae, third floor. Can you get there?"
"Why should I trust—"
"Because right now I'm the only one warning you." The line crackled. "Ditch the car because they have your plate. Take the subway and—" Static again. "—Exit 9 in thirty minutes."
"Wait, what's happening? Why is my father—"
The call dropped.
I sat there trying to process what I'd just heard through a bad connection. Someone was warning me about the men following me and someone claimed they worked for my father, but the call had been too broken to get clear information.
This could be a trap or it could be genuine help, and I had no way of knowing which.
The black sedan appeared at the other end of the parking lot, waiting.
I looked at my phone and then at the sedan and then back at my phone, trying to decide what to do. The logical choice was to go back to the office and call security and handle this through proper channels.
But my father's voice echoed in my head: I made you CEO.
What if proper channels led back to him?
I made a decision that was probably stupid and possibly insane, but I couldn't shake the feeling that the dream had been trying to warn me about something real.
I got out of the car and walked quickly toward the back of the convenience store where the subway entrance was. Behind me I heard car doors opening but I didn't look back, just walked faster until I was jogging and then running.
The subway platform was crowded with evening commuters and I pushed through them while my lungs burned. A train was boarding and I squeezed through the closing doors just as two men in dark suits appeared on the platform.
They saw me through the window and one of them pulled out a phone while the other looked frustrated.
The train pulled away and I leaned against the door trying to catch my breath, watching them disappear into the distance.
My reflection in the dark window looked terrified.
What was I doing? I was running from security based on a broken phone call from a stranger, and I was believing that my father had me under surveillance for reasons I didn't understand.
This was insane.
But I was also remembering the dream and the feeling of dying and the certainty that something was wrong.
My phone buzzed with a text.
Hongdae Station. Exit 9. Twenty minutes.
I looked at the message while the train carried me toward a meeting that could be a trap or could be the only person trying to help me.
Either way I'd already made my choice and there was no going back now.
I just hoped I wasn't running toward something worse than what I'd left behind.